Bryce National Park in Winter

We hiked from Sunset Point to Sunrise Point along the Rim. This was about mid way, You can see people up on Sunset Point where we started in the upper right hand corner. 

We couldn't believe how many crazy people went right up to edge to have their photo taken, or take one. This is looking the opposite direction from the photo above.

Back months ago we decided to not stay in Bryce as it was first come/ first serve and we were afraid that there wouldn't be a space.  It was a good decision. Only one loop of the North Campground is open in the winter and there are no hook ups for electricity or water. When the temperatures are below freezing at night we are finding that our propane heat alone is marginal. And the night temperatures were way below freezing.

Here's our campsite at Ruby's - lots of privacy! 

So we had reservations at Ruby's Inn and Campground just outside the park. In 1916 Reuben (Ruby) Syrett and his family established a ranch where the Inn is today. At the same time Forest Supervisor J.W. Humphrey started promoting the scenic wonders of nearby Bryce Canyon. Ruby built a "touring business" taking occasional visitors into the area and in 1919 got permission to build "Tourists Rest" where the Bryce Canyon Lodge is today. But it wasn't until the Union Pacific Railroad built transportation to the Park that tourism took off. In 1923 it was designated a National Monument and later became a National Park in 1928. After 1923 Ruby moved the business back to his Ranch. It's a mega business today! "You can do anything you want (recreation wise) at Ruby's". 

We felt a lot safer when the Rim trail was a little further from the edge. The path was slippery at times so we often walked in the snow.

We had been receiving emails from Ruby's for weeks warning us that they were opening only just before we arrived and that they had much more snow than usual. As a result we changed our reservation (free) for two days later and only 2 nights instead of 4. We added those 2 nights to our time in Page. Great decision as the weather was much better there and we saw a lot more of that area. There was a lot of snow at Bryce and as you can see, we camped in the almost deserted campground - but it was very pretty and there was electricity!

Our first stop was Bryce Point. The footing was 
icy and the railings just above the snow,

Like many others I had to hold onto the railing
when the trail went downhill!

One day was plenty of time to spend at Bryce. All but one of the trails below the rim were closed and some of the Rim trail as well. We hiked everything that was available except that one trail (Queen's Garden). We watched people descending that and unless you had hiking poles and crampons, you were crazy to do it. As it is, the Rim trails and access to the viewpoints were icy and at times I had to bend down to hold onto the tops (only part visible) of the railings or we kept to the deeper snow on the side. 

The view over that railing - seen in the photos above.

The Bryce Canyon Lodge was still closed for the winter as was the Shuttle Service. We had a very nice buffet lunch at Ruby's and swam in their big indoor pool in the afternoon. That was marginal as we shared the pool with a huge number of children. The hot tub looked like one of the circus cars where 20 clowns come out of a Volkswagen bug. But between that and the exercise room, it was a nice change. 

At the end of the Rim Trail at Sunrise Point, we looked back at Sunset Point and even though this is taken with Scott's camera and he zoomed in a little, that group of black bumps on the top cliff are people.

The weather ahead had us concerned. There were winter storm and high wind warning for the next few days. We had reservations in Capitol Reef National Park for two nights and decided to give those up and stay at a RV park nearby with electricity to be sure to stay warm, The road to the first one in Loa, Utah was really interesting: Route 62 north through Antimony. We passed through so many climate zones and so few dwellings. I think in the first 60 miles we only saw two cars. The first settlers came to Antimony in 1873 and named it Coyote. When antimony was discovered there in 1880 it became a mining town and renamed itself. The population at the last census was 122. But Antimony is known throughout Utah for it's Fourth of July fireworks display, which consists of three bottle rockets and free sparklers for anyone over the age of 3. They show the fireworks over nearby Otter Creek Reservoir. We stopped at the State Park there for a short hike along the water - lovely spot and from the number of fisherpeople along the shore - great fishing, Scott finds out so many interesting things during our trip with his phone! Basically I drive 90% of the time by choice. I enjoy driving and Scott's a great navigator. 

The Fremont River RV campground was very basic but the electricity was really welcome. We left Baby there early at 11:00 AM and headed into Capitol Reef State Park for the afternoon. More on that in my next post!

There are a lot of ravens year round at Bryce. They establish and protect temporary territories to compete for handouts by tourists. This photo and the ones below are all Scott's. He was fascinated by the shapes of the hoodoos,